Good morning,
There is plenty going on right now, and the market has a lot to digest. The Federal Reserve raised rates last week as expected, and they are likely to raise them again in December. Brent crude oil reached a four-year high on tightening supply, with a barrel of black gold now trading at over $82. The Trump administration reached a trade deal with South Korea. To a bigger deal, Canada and the U.S. reached a hard-fought trade pact to replace NAFTA just ahead of the U.S. imposed deadline of yesterday midnight.
This trade deal, the United-States-Mexico-Canada-Agreement (USMCA) is largely responsible for the stock markets nice opening this morning. Looking to the rest of the week ahead and to warm everyone up for the next earnings season which is right around the corner, we’ll get reports from PepsiCo, Paychex, Constellation Brands, and Costco Wholesale. Corporate earnings have been exceptional of late, and the outlook is for another strong quarter to come.
On the economic front, incoming data includes August Construction Spending, August Factory Orders, and the big report we all look forward to this time of month – the September Jobs Report. Market expectations are for the economy to add 184,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to improve a notch to 3.8%. This would be the lowest unemployment rates since 2000. Put it all together, and the market likes the taste of things – as all of the major indices are trading near all-time highs.
As always, feel free to call us with any questions you may have, or if you would like to set up a meeting.
All the best,
Southport Station Financial!